The invention generally relates to printing ink manufacturing processes. In particular, the invention concerns an interactive system for color approval by communication with remote locations and supplying printing inks to remote locations for printing uniform colors.
Many companies seek to capitalize on having a national or international presence by promoting to their customers the advantages of a supplier that can provide a product or service of uniform quality anywhere in the country or the world from its network of locations. A national or international company may also seek to foster an image of increased service and superior research based upon the combined and complementary efforts of groups separated geographically but working together to meet the customer""s needs.
One tool that can be effective to portray an international but unified market presence is the adoption of a uniform look for labeling and product literature. While the company that seeks a uniform look has a national or international business, the printing is typically done on a local scale by different small, independent printers. The labels, product brochures, or other printed articles may then have color variations from location to location, or even for different printing runs because of error introduced by subjective color matching methods, by slightly different color standards, by different equipment and different printing conditions, and so on. The colors of printed materials can also vary because they are printed by different processes, for example by a lithographic process or by a gravure printing process. Different kinds of printing inks, for example heat-set inks or drying inks, could also be used, depending upon the particular printer. Such differences in the printed materials detracts from the desired image of a national or global company with a strong, unified effort.
For these reasons, it would be desirable to have a method of assuring the closest match in color and quality, regardless of where geographically the article is printed.
The present invention provides a system that enables the buyer of printed materials (xe2x80x9cprint buyerxe2x80x9d) to obtain printed materials that have matching print colors, even when the inks are manufactured at different locations and the materials are printed by different printing companies and at distant locations, and even when the printing is done using different printing processes.
The present invention further provides a computerized system with remote access capabilities for identifying a desired ink color and a formulation for a matching ink color based upon a given set of available ink base colors. The desired ink color is identified using the spectral data or other data to define the desired color, an interface for comparing the color standard with the selected ink color for the customer""s approval, an optional procedure for adjusting the ink color (and the formulation for the ink color) based upon input from the customer, and optionally a link to a dispensing system having the ink base colors of the formulation for mixing the color bases of the formulation to make the ink.
In a preferred embodiment, the generated ink formulation is identified with the print buyer code or with a product code for producing additional ink batches for the same or for another printer who prints materials for that print buyer.
In another aspect, the invention provides a method for identifying a desired print color on a computerized system with remote access capabilities in which a desired ink color is input to a color matching program, being converted first, if necessary, to the coordinates that the color matching program will use. The color matching program uses the desired color data, and optionally other data such as information relating to the type of ink desired, to determine a formulation for a color-matched ink. The formulation can then be transmitted electronically to manufacturing equipment where the ink is produced according to the generated ink formulation. The computerized system preferably identifies the input color and the generated ink formulation with the print buyer so that additional ink batches of identical color can be prepared.